About Course
The article explores the notion that not all knowledge related to esports medicine and performance comes from traditional academic sources. While academic research is valuable, the internet contains a vast amount of information that can provide unique perspectives and insights, such as forum posts, Youtube videos, and web archives. These “lost gem” resources offer practical wisdom and advice that may not be found in academic literature. The article highlights the importance of exploring a range of sources to provide the best possible care and support for esports athletes, with examples of how non-academic sources can be applied to the current esports landscape. Overall, the article emphasizes the need to adopt an evidence-informed approach that includes a diversity of sources.
Instructor
Reid “x0tek” Johnson
Esports Coach
Reid “x0tek” Johnson began his esports career in 2003, playing in a World Cyber Games qualifier for Age of Mythology. While he was disqualified in this first event due to his young age, x0tek’s later career tells a different story. From turn based strategy games to tactical shooters, x0tek’s nearly 20 years as a competitor would bring multiple world and national titles across a variety of games. With the advent of the pandemic in 2020, x0tek took time away from competition to explore coaching. Since then, he has:
- Coached the first Egyptian team to ever top an international esports professional league, Team Anubis, in CrossFire
- Coached then-Australian juggernaut the Soniqs in Valorant, reaching top-ten in the North American rankings
- Coached Cloud9 White’s game changers roster, winning a national championship and becoming the first all-womens team to break into the top 40 rankings of a major esport
COURSE PREVIEW
As everyone knows, you can always trust what you read on the internet. Truthfulness is required, with lying often being illegal. Wait a second…
While the internet rightly has a reputation for spreading false narratives and even falser information, it also contains a massive amount of information. A large chunk of this is academic, and much can be found in public repositories, such as the JSTOR storage system or the DOAJ.
However, a significant chunk of insight, advice, and practical wisdom comes from non-academic sources. Many of these perspectives are not found in any academic journal, but rather scattered across the internet. A forum post from 2013 on proper hand health and stretching along with visual examples. A Youtube video describing a multi-time world champion’s process. An article on proper studying and film review only accessible through archive.org web archives.
For medical and performance science professionals, evidence-informed practice is a key component of providing best possible care and support. However, that does not mean constraining ourselves to only what is established in research. Knowledge gained through experience, both our own and that of others in the esports medicine and performance sphere, is just as key.
The goal of this article will be to highlight some of the knowledge we can glean from these “lost gem” resources, their background, and how we can apply them to the current esports landscape.
Esports medicine, esports research, esports performance
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